Let's Bring Back the Conversation Pit

The post I wrote last week about groovy 70s furniture got me thinking about conversation pits. I'm convinced that conversation pits were the pinnacle of architectural evolution, and it's all been downhill from there. Maybe we're just afraid of that kind of greatness. But it's 2015, y'all. We've accomplished so much, and we've come so far. I think it's time to bring the conversation pit back.

Anna wrote a little about the history of conversation pits here. Pictured above is one of the very first conversation pits, in a home designed by Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard in the 1950s. Although we may think of the conversation pit as an example of 70s excess, they were originally conceived by midcentury architects as a way to keep living rooms sleek and uncluttered by furniture.

Here's a slightly subtler vintage version of the conversation pit, from You Are Electric. Sure, a sectional sofa would accomplish much the same thing — but it would be a lot less interesting. This conversation pit, which even has its own fireplace, is almost like a modern-day inglenook.

The design of the two conversation pits above is really quite minimal — notice how they allow for uninterrupted sight lines through the space by essentially lowering the seating into the floor. But eventually the conversation pit evolved into something... a little bit different.

This is probably how most of us remember the conversation pit, covered in shag carpet and ripe for debauchery. The 70s version of the pit made up in exuberance what it lacked in class. This could, perhaps, help allow for the disappearance of the conversation pit... but fortunately, some intrepid architects are starting to bring it back.

This conversation pit design, spotted on Design Boom, really hews close to the intention of the original conversation pits — allowing for a lot of seating while still maintaining a feeling of spaciouness and openness.

The conversation pit has also crept outdoors, like in this exaple from John Robert Nilsson Architects. There's something especially appealing about sitting by a fire in your little nook under the stars.